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Suspect in Boys' Kidnapping Arrested in Hevron

Hussam Dufash, third suspect named on Friday, arrested late Saturday night after contacting reporters over the case.

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Tova Dvorin, 06/07/14 08:00

Still missing (L to R): Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sh

courtesy of the families

A third possible suspect in the abduction and murder of Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha'ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) was arrested Sunday, after a news expose revealed the man's connection to the case.

Undercover police officers arrested Hamas member and suspect Hussam Dufash early Sunday morning, Walla! News reports, after the news agency reported Friday that he had been absent from his home since the night of the abduction (June 12) and was linked to the abduction.

Shorlty after the report aired, Dufash contacted Walla! News and claimed that he is not a suspect, that he is at home, and that those who want to arrest him are free to do so.

Dufash was arrested less than 24 hours later at a Hevron bar, reportedly while watching the World Cup.

"I did not turn myself in because I did not do anything," he said. Dufash's deep involvement with Hamas has been well-known for some time in Hevron and to Israeli security forces.

"Today I saw the report online, and people also told me that I am linked to this mess - but I was not involved in the kidnapping or anything else," he claimed. "I want to move on with my life."

Husam served a four-year prison sentence in 2008 for being directly involved in Hamas.

At least two of Dufash's family members have been involved in terror attacks and attempts in the past, the Arab sources told Walla!. In 2003 one of his family members, Jihad Dufash, was killed in a "work accident" at a Hamas explosives laboratory in the Hevron area.

A gag order was recently lifted identifying two main Hamas terrorists behind the abduction and murder of the teens as Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu-Eisha; the manhunt for the two, who have also not ben seen since June 12 and have a history of involvement in terror, continues.